If Kortney Dunbar initially was oblivious to the growth spurt that began sometime before her sophomore year of high school, her leg joints weren’t. Their reminders were regular and not so subtle.

“My knees starting hurting,” she said. “Kind of like a light pain.”

And so it began — the steady climb from a 5-foot-7 guard to a 6-2 forward at Edwardsville (Ill.) High School who’s now a Tennessee women’s basketball freshman.

Dunbar grew about four inches before her sophomore season and another three before her junior season. She said the knee discomfort was tolerable, thanks to ice treatments. Furthermore, she never outgrew the shooting skills that enabled her to make 112 3-pointers her final two seasons at Edwardsville.

“I got to work with it and deal with it,” she said. “I wouldn’t say I ever had that awkward stage.”

Socially, Dunbar noticed some gawkers at the mall. She’d catch her peers in the school hallway looking up to her in exaggerated fashion. She wasn’t above having some fun with the change herself. For instance, she and her friends noted the impact on school photos.

“We were all the same height in pictures,” she said. “As the high school years progressed, I slowly started inching on them, inching on them, inching on them. We made fun of it. We’d say, ‘Oh, we’re the AT&T bars.’ ”

The hardest part might’ve been the toll Dunbar’s growth spurt took on her wardrobe. Jeans became capri pants. Wearing longer sleeves and rolling them up was strategic, if not stylish.

“Your jeans usually are the most expensive or your jackets and all that,” Dunbar said.

She’d ask about buying a pair of Miss Me jeans and anticipate the answer. “No,’’ said Dunbar, recalling her mother’s standard reply, “they’re not going to fit in three months.”

Dunbar fit in a conversation with the News Sentinel last month about a variety of topics.

Q: You’re a country and western music fan, been to any good concerts lately?

A: I just went to Miley Cyrus and I loved her. But she’s not country. I went to Rascal Flatts before I got here with my sister and loved it. Loved Rascal Flatts. That was real fun.

Q: What was the Miley Cyrus concert like?

A: Wow, it was insane. That’s my first word is ‘insane.’ (Coach) Holly (Warlick) asked me about it and she was like ‘I’m going to go.’ My sister surprised me with the tickets.

Q: What was Miley’s most unusual costume?

A: Probably the bird costume. She came out with a huge feather yellow bird costume on and then she came out flying on a hot dog. The hot dog was probably my favorite.

Q: You have an older sister, Kirstin. Are you two alike?

A: No, we’re the exact opposite. She doesn’t play sports. She used to be a cheerleader in high school. Now she’s a senior at (University of Illinois) and she’s looking to go into med school. ... We’re really close, really close. She was never a really big sports fan so my dad was always pushing that on me. She was more of a cheerleader on the sidelines. ‘Go Kort.’ I’d come home and my dad would be yelling at me about this or whatever and she’d be like ‘Well, she did good on this.’

Q: If you two were alike, do you think you’d be at each other’s throats?

A: I feel like we’d be close. We pull for each other. We know each other like the back of our hands.

Q: Have you gone over to the Rec Center to try to get in games? If so, any stories?

A: I’m going to shoot. That’s obviously what I do. If I knock it down from deep, all the guys will get all rowdy. ‘Oh, she hit it in your face. Aw, that’s embarrassing. She’s a girl.’ I like to play there. It’s fun and it’s not as serious sometimes.